Assessment of microplastic on tropical tidal lake waters in Medan (study cases-Siombak lake)

Abstract

Siombak Lake is an artificial lake in Medan City. We investigated microplastic pollution in tropical tidal lake waters in the current research. Grab samples of water and sediments were taken by Indonesian standards. Organic digestion and density separation were used in the preparation of the sample. The categorization of the polymer was determined by Raman Spectrophotometry, and the quantity and shape, were determined by microscopy. The result indicated that the sediment and water in Siombak Lake were polluted with microplastic. Both water and sediments are dominated by fragment shapes. The concentration of microplastic in sediments water ranging from 91 to 126 particles for 100 ml water and 262 to 398 particles for one gram of dry sediment. Microplastic contains polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene, and data analysis shows a strong correlation between the amount of microplastic in water and sediment.